Paul went on to say that the bill could actually lead to higher future levels of illegal immigration because of caps on work visas for agricultural workers.<ref name="gang"/> He previously introduced an amendment that would have required [[Congress]] to vote on whether border security goals have been met before granting legal status to millions of illegal immigrants. The Senate rejected Paul’s proposal at the end of June 2013.<ref name="gang"/>

Paul went on to say that the bill could actually lead to higher future levels of illegal immigration because of caps on work visas for agricultural workers.<ref name="gang"/> He previously introduced an amendment that would have required [[Congress]] to vote on whether border security goals have been met before granting legal status to millions of illegal immigrants. The Senate rejected Paul’s proposal at the end of June 2013.<ref name="gang"/>

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=====Iowa's GOP Lincoln Day Dinner 2013=====

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Paul was the headliner of the annual Iowa Lincoln Day Dinner. This year was the first time in recent years that it sold out almost two weeks in advance. The main topic of his speech was immigration reform, a hot topic due to the [[Gang of Eight]] legislation, where he outlined his own version of immigration reform which included allowing illegal immigrants to continue working in the country.<ref>[http://www.newrepublic.com/article/113494/president-rand-paul-hes-becoming-better-politician-every-day# ''The New Republic'', "President Rand Paul, Watch out, he's becoming a better politician every day," Accessed June 17, 2013]</ref>

Paul is considering a run for president in 2016. He has said he plans to make a decision at some point in 2014.[1][2] He declared in late May 2013 that he will seek re-election in 2016 to the United States Senate.[3]

Based on analysis of multiple outside rankings, Paul is an average Republican member of Congress, meaning he will vote with the Republican Party on the majority of bills.

Biography

Paul was born in 1963 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and grew up in Lake Jackson, Texas. He attended Baylor University and received his M.D. from Duke University Medical School. Prior to his election to the Senate, Paul worked as an ophthalmologist in Bowling Green, Kentucky[4]

Issues

Political positions

Hemp legalization

Immigration

In May 2013, Paul said that he supports stronger border-security provisions and more work visas. He said he would not support immigration legislation without those provisions. "The main problem with illegal immigration is that we don't have enough legal immigration," Paul said.[11] In June 2013, Paul said he would support comprehensive immigration reform if his amendment increasing congressional oversight on border security is accepted. Paul's amendment, if approved, would require the Department of Homeland Security to implement border security measures such as additional fencing along the U.S-Mexico border. Congress would also be given a yearly report before voting whether the agency met its goals. The number of legal work visas approved would be tied to whether metrics are met.[12]

On June 23, 2013 Paul announced he will vote against the final Senate immigration reform bill because it does not guarantee border security.[13] “I’m all in favor of immigration reform but I’m like most conservatives in the country [in] that I think reform should be dependent on border security first,” he said on CNN’s “State of the Union”.[14]

Paul went on to say that the bill could actually lead to higher future levels of illegal immigration because of caps on work visas for agricultural workers.[14] He previously introduced an amendment that would have required Congress to vote on whether border security goals have been met before granting legal status to millions of illegal immigrants. The Senate rejected Paul’s proposal at the end of June 2013.[14]

Iowa's GOP Lincoln Day Dinner 2013

Paul was the headliner of the annual Iowa Lincoln Day Dinner. This year was the first time in recent years that it sold out almost two weeks in advance. The main topic of his speech was immigration reform, a hot topic due to the Gang of Eight legislation, where he outlined his own version of immigration reform which included allowing illegal immigrants to continue working in the country.[15]

Debt and spending

Paul has criticized Republicans who "dramatically increased federal spending" after lowering taxes during the Bush administration, leading to an unbalanced budget.[16]

Paul also introduced legislation in 2011 to cut the deficit by $500 billion within one year.[17][18] His budget plan, introduced in 2011, sought to balance the federal budget within 5 years.[19][20]

Energy

On energy policy, Paul opposes government subsidies for solar and wind power, claiming such involvement destroys incentives for energy innovation and encourages more lobbying by companies "with the most political clout." Paul supports cutting taxes and eliminating regulations on those businesses involved with developing new sources of energy.[21]

Second Amendment

Paul believes "gun control laws only restrict access to responsible gun ownership." He opposes "any proposed gun control law which would limit the right to gun ownership by those who are responsible, law-abiding citizens."[22]

Paul expanded his criticism of gun control laws to include the Patriot Act, which in his view "gives the government the right to search your home without a warrant, when you're not home, leave listening devices, and use any and all information to create a prosecution on any charge regardless of their original reason for the search." Paul believes that the Second Amendment is protected only as far as the Fourth Amendment is protected. He states that unless Americans are free from "unreasonable searches and seizures," their Second Amendment rights are not fully protected.[23]

NSA controversy

In June 2013 The Guardian reported about a secret surveillance program where the NSA obtained phone records of millions of customers.[24] Paul is considering a class-action lawsuit against the National Security Agency over the large-scale surveillance program that was gathering data on American citizens. Paul also said he would consider taking it to the Supreme Court.[25][26] Paul called the NSA surveillance program an "astounding assault on the Constitution."[27]

Criticism of Dick Cheney

In June 2013, former vice president Dick Cheney criticized Paul's views that the NSA's surveillance programs infringed on the privacy of American citizens by arguing that most of the current Congress was not present immediately after the 9/11 attacks, and thus did not fully understand the circumstances that led to the adoption of the NSA programs. Cheney stated, "When you consider the possibility of somebody smuggling something like a nuclear device into the United States, it becomes very, very important to gather intelligence on your enemies and stop that attack before it ever gets launched.”[28]

Paul responded to criticism from the former vice president of the senator’s views on the NSA’s surveillance programs by blaming Cheney and the Bush administration’s pre-9/11 intelligence failures and subsequent security policies, which Paul blasted as incompatible with the U.S. Constitution. “Really, someone should have been removed from office for that,” said Paul, “and they should have said this is never going to happen again." Paul continued: "Instead they said, ‘oh, we need to look at the records of all the innocent Americans’ phone calls every day.' And I think you need to have a respect for the Bill of Rights, a respect for privacy and particularly a respect for the fourth amendment.”[29]

Presidential preference

Specific votes

Fiscal Cliff

Paul voted against the fiscal cliff compromise bill, which made permanent most of the Bush tax cuts originally passed in 2001 and 2003 while also raising tax rates on the highest income levels. He was one of five Republicans that voted against the bill. The bill was passed in the Senate by a 89/8 vote on January 1, 2013.[31]

The proposed budget would have cut about $5 trillion over the next decade and aimed to balance the budget by the end of the 10-year period.[33]

Some tea party members of the GOP opposed the measure because of its reliance on $600 billion-plus in tax revenues on the wealthy enacted in January 2013, in order to balance the budget.[32] Others in the Senate opposed the Ryan plan because of cuts from safety net programs for the poor and the inclusion of a plan to turn the Medicare program for the elderly into a voucher-like system for future beneficiaries born in 1959 or later.[32]

Drones filibuster

Rand Paul takes the floor on March 6, 2013 for a 13-hour filibuster on CIA Director confirmation and drone use. This video is the first hour.

On March 6, 2013, Paul led a filibuster of President Obama's CIA Director nominee, John Brennan that lasted 12 hours and 52 minutes - the ninth longest Senate filibuster on record.[34] In addition to delaying the final vote on Brennan's confirmation, Paul's stated intention was to highlight his concerns about the Obama Administration's drone policies. Particularly, whether a drone could be used to kill an American citizen within the United States border, without any due process involved. Paul and other civil liberties activists have been critical that President Obama did not offer a clear response to the question. "I’ve come here to speak for as long as I can to draw attention to something that I find to really be very disturbing," he stated during the speech.[35]
"Your notification is the buzz of propellers on the drone as it flies overhead in the seconds before you're killed. Is that what we really want from our government?" Paul prompted ominously[36] He went on to denounce lack of transparency in the drone program, asking "What will be the standard for how we kill Americans in America?... Could political dissent be part of the standard for drone strikes?"[37][38] Paul concluded his remarks asking for his counterparts on the other side of the aisle to join him in his efforts to obtain clarification from the president.

A total of 14 senators joined Paul in the filibuster -- 13 Republicans and one Democrat -- [39] and 30 Republican Senators reportedly did not support the filibuster.[40][41][42] Most prominent among Paul's GOP colleagues to rebuke him for his tactics were Senators John McCain (AZ) and Lindsey Graham (SC).[43] The day after the filibuster, McCain gave a speech in which he accused Paul of fear-mongering, pointing to his previous day's remarks about the United States government being able to use a drone to kill an American citizen who spoke out against government policy. He stated, "To somehow say that someone who disagrees with American policy and even may demonstrate against it, is somehow a member of an organization which makes that individual an enemy combatant is simply false."[43] Reinforcing McCain's argument, Attorney General Eric Holder sent a letter to Paul, responding to the filibuster. Holder wrote, "Does the president have the authority to use a weaponized drone to kill an American not engaged in combat on U.S. soil? The answer to that is no."[44]

Elections

2016

Paul is a possible GOP nominee for the presidential ticket in 2016. Paul's chief of staff, Doug Stafford--who is widely seen as Paul’s closest adviser--announced plans to resign in order to manage Paul’s national political operation according to reports from May 2, 2013.[49] Stafford will be focused on directing the senator’s organization in early-primary states, his calendar, and his communications.[49] He will also run Paul’s political-action committees — RAND PAC and Rand Paul for U.S. Senate — which are expected to grow and are the financial and political foundation for Paul’s likely presidential campaign if he chooses to run for President in 2016.[49]

In an interview in April 2013, Rand answered when asked whether he'll run for president, “We are considering it. You know, I want to be part of the national debate. So whether I run or not, being considered is something that allows me to have a larger microphone.”[49]

In May and June 2013, Paul planned trips to several states for the beginning of a presidential exploration tour. States Paul planned to visit on the trip include California, Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina.[50][51] During Paul's visit to Iowa on May 11, 2013, he criticized Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for her handling of the Benghazi terrorist attack.[52][53] During Paul's trip to the Granite State, New Hampshire state house representativePhil Straight (R) called Paul a "contender" for the 2016 presidential race.[54]

2010

On November 2, 2010, Paul won election to the United States Senate. The race attracted more than $8.5 million dollars in outside spending.[55]

Campaign donors

Comprehensive donor information for Paul is available dating back to 2010. Based on available campaign finance records, Paul raised a total of $7,809,324 during that time period. This information was last updated on April 3, 2013.[60]

Lifetime voting record

According to the website GovTrack, Paul missed 23 of 578 roll call votes from Jan 2011 to Mar 2013. This amounts to 4.00%, which is worse than the median of 1.7% among currently serving senators as of March 2013.[63]

Congressional staff salaries

The website Legistorm compiles staff salary information for members of Congress. Paul paid his congressional staff a total of $1,454,975 in 2011. He ranks fifth on the list of the lowest paid Republican Senatorial Staff Salaries and he ranks fifth overall of the lowest paid Senatorial Staff Salaries in 2011. Overall, Kentucky ranks 40th in average salary for senatorial staff. The average U.S. Senate congressional staff was paid $2,529,141.70 in fiscal year 2011.[64]

Net worth

2011

Based on congressional financial disclosure forms and calculations made available by OpenSecrets.org - The Center for Responsive Politics, Paul's net worth as of 2011 was estimated between $433,025 and $1,295,000 That averages to $864,012, which is lower than the average net worth of Republican Senators in 2011 of $6,358,668. His average net worth increased by 11.63% from 2010.[65]

2010

Based on congressional financial disclosure forms and calculations made available by OpenSecrets.org - The Center for Responsive Politics, Paul's networth as of 2010 was estimated between $278,019 and $1,269,999. That averages to $774,009. The average net worth of Republican Senators in 2010 was $7,054,258.[66]

National Journal vote ratings

2012

Each year National Journal publishes an analysis of how liberally or conservatively each member of congress voted in the previous year. Paul ranked 6th in the conservative rankings in 2012.[67]

2011

Each year National Journal publishes an analysis of how liberally or conservatively each member of congress voted in the previous year. Paul ranked 32nd in the conservative rankings among U.S. Senators.[68]

Voting with party

2013

Rand Paul voted with the Republican Party 83.6% of the time, which ranked 38th among the 46 Senate Republican members as of June 2013.[69]

Recent news

This section displays the most recent stories in a Google news search for the term Rand + Paul + Kentucky + Senate

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Personal

Paul has been married to his wife Kelley (nee Ashby) since 1993. They live in Bowling Green, Kentucky and have three sons: William, Duncan, and Robert.[4]